19 Day Out Lights Out
by redcloudedleopard
Summary: Lights are out for Ozai, who is attacked by Annihilus while alone in the main lab. It's Valentine's Day for Reed x Sue, Ben x Alicia & Johnny x Azula as each couple ends their day out with a fine date - while still on 'villain alert', of course.
1. Part One

"L.Y., please begin the sequence. We're starting off with 20% of full power," instructed Leopard X. He was happy to stay home whilst everyone was out for dinner; besides, the air outside was fairly chilly though it was just past six.

"At once, Dr. Ozai," the computer's voice echoed throughout the large lab.

H.E.R.B.I.E. eagerly butted in, "Hooray! L.Y. & I have been waiting to see a show like this!"

The _pericycle_ was next in line to become Leopard X's most used weapon. That is, if it worked. It was designed to take down multiple adversaries in one go, involving a piece of new knowledge in which Ozai wished to partake. He had lined the front, back, left & right sides of his armour longitudinally with a special material. Similar to the EMP function in Reed's main lab, the material would emit a "double ring" pulse of considerable magnitude to stun anything not immune to its effects.

Standing on an elevated platform for the weapon test, he passed his eye around to view the four targets placed above & below him, & on both sides too. Just as his armour was being charged up, L.Y. interjected, "Pardon me, Dr. Ozai, but you have a call from Mrs. Chen."

"What?" he gasped, looking down at his suit that was lighting up gradually.

"_Hello, Ozai? Can you hear me?" _came the voice of Ursa through the comms system_. _

Even at 20%, the _pericycle_ had hazardous effects, for it destroyed all the intended targets the moment it was let off & disrupted the comms speakers _too_! The explosion was in fact injurious to the penthouse's tranquility. However, Reed's consoles & most imperative gizmos were fortunately unharmed.

"_Aiya_…," grumbled Ozai lowly. He took off his helmet to clear it of the excess smoke that accidentally got inside.

"Shall we try that again?" came H.E.R.B.I.E.'s curious question.

"Mrs. Chen just wanted to wish you a Happy Valentine's Day," L.Y. spoke calmly to her creator.

Ozai's voice shuddered, "That's _today_? Send her my greeting too, please." He remembered something extra, "Oh, tell her the comm. devices were busted, & that I'll call her later before the night is over."

He had not yet noticed that Reed's power gauntlet – the device that accessed the Negative Zone – had been upset from its position & fallen behind the counter.

* * *

On the oddly curved platform perched a paranoid Annihilus – spending the hours monitoring his intrinsically valued power source in form of a rod. Doom may have lived to escape from being killed by him, but knew better not to play games with the Negative Zone's true ruler. The cosmic control rod was pretty much secured in its place.

It hadn't occurred in quite a while, but as he turned to look outside his safe haven, what looked like a portal was open & gaping wide. Brilliant & flashing, it increased his anxiety all the more. In an irritably mad state he now flew to it to inspect right away lest it posed any kind of threat. He exited through a hole carved in the roof – cutting the air with both wings - & a silvery moving figure on the portal's other side caught his eye. He dived toward the void into the other existing world he despised.

* * *

The waiter was clad in a smart yet snazzy waistcoat; he offered two menus to Reed & Sue. He was definitely an Italian man for his words were flowery & eloquent, "It's a pleasure to serve the two of you this evening. My name is Angelo, & I must say that lovely reviews of our food were resounding perpetually through the restaurant today…"

"Reed?" asked Sue, gazing at Mister Fantastic's PDA in his palm.

"Oh, yes! We're ready to order our meal," he said quickly.

Sue went first, "I'm going for your signature _pappardelle_ dish, with the truffle oil, please."

"A wise choice, Invisible Woman," muttered Angelo with his smooth smile, "& you, Mister Fantastic?" He came across as a speaker with good clarity, not just because of the profound silence of the private room they were in.

"I'm ordering the _orzo_ topped with basil & tomato. Number 54 on the list," answered Reed, pointing to a spot on his menu.

"Ah, one of the dishes that sets this place abuzz..," Angelo commented. "Thank you very much," he wrapped it up before taking the menus with him. With an unusual celerity, he left the room, disappearing behind the doors in an instant.

"This place tops the list of the best Italian restaurants in the city," said Reed, sounding proud of himself to have chosen the venue for his date with Sue.

"Sounds like I'm gonna like it a lot," she mentioned.

"I'm sure you will," he sort of smirked, "So, is it time for a little…_present_-ation?" His tone was perfectly natural to extort a smile from her. He took out something from under the tablecloth, cherishing a tender, careful affection for it.

Without hesitation, she received the gift & unwrapped it.

"A necklace?" she queried with widened eyes.

"With your preferred type of gemstone: natural diamond," he spoke gently, "They always remind me of you. Strong, with beauteous uniformity."

"Thanks, Reed. It means so much," her voice seemed a bit broken in her nervousness, "Now comes _your_ turn to be at the receiving end." A little chuckle sounded in her sentence as she reached below to pass him a lovely present wrapped in cream coloured paper.

"Is this a -"

"Yup. It is," she warmly responded. "For all those years before this."

"Fascinating. A compact yet elegant digital photo album…," he scrutinized it, & tapped the smooth buttons on its surface, "Slideshow modes with adjustable speed, hmmm." He browsed a number of photos they'd taken together in the past & grinned. "Thank you, Susan."

"Well, there'll be more memories to put in there for sure," she got up from her chair. "I'll be back in a bit."

He looked up to her, "That's fine by me."

"Happy Valentines," she gave him a sweet peck on the cheek before she was off. He was at leisure for a couple or so minutes to work on his PDA, with a constant smile now lining his countenance. Aside from the miracles of science & the world itself, **the greatest of these miracles would be love.** So he thought.


	2. Part Two

_* Dan = Daniel Grimm Jr., or __Ben's older brother, who led the Yancy Street Gang. Ben idolized him, but he was killed in a gang fight in the past._

_

* * *

_

"I'm sorry, 'Licia. It's Dan; he's buggin' me again today."

"We can visit him on the way home. How about that?"

"Nah. I'll try tackle this sob story & be your Valentine. Besides, I've been plannin' this day for about a month."

They took their seats on the comfy bench right by the nicely prepared teak table, & had a mixture of steak & other scrumptious foods in their dinner. They chatted about things small & big, things long & short. Other couples were hanging about Central Park too, & while they walked past that table, Ben & Alicia were the objects of attention to scores of them. Except they weren't just going to invade their privacy – let alone the _Thing's_ privacy.

Alicia wanted to tear her boyfriend away from the bitter thought. Yet it was in her nature that whatever he wished to say, she'd listen with an anxious attention, being **quick to listen & slow to speak.** The bottom line: this day's chief goal wasn't clamorous happiness; it was love & only love.

So badly did she want to tell him how she had the fresh source of strength & reassurance in him.

"Ben, I've saved it for today to tell you how much you mean to me," she lay a hand on his own, "In the form of _a gift_." She was about to reveal to him her latest sculpture, one she'd spent countless weeks refining. It felt like an epitome of the heartfelt statements art was supposed to express; his rough fingertips could even sense it, in some indescribable, beautiful way.

"'Licia, I can't tell you what I'm feeling," he chortled. Unlike before, his tone sounded so velvet & the total opposite of rough or brash. It was his turn, "Lemme show ya what _I_ made for ya."

Alicia could hear the thudding sound of a relatively large box on the tabletop. "Open yer mouth," he cheerfully told her, & she obeyed. A spoon went through her lips slowly & she tasted delectable cake. The smell of cocoa wafted about the air at the same time.

"Sorry it ain't really somethin' that can last," he added.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed sweetly. "Today's quickly becoming one of the best days in my life."

He heavily sighed, "Correction…not one of the best. Not for me."

"That isn't true in my case," she ended the conversation. The following moment her head was placed against his great chest. She shut both eyes, drifting away temporarily in her thoughts. Their dialogue had carried on with much intermission, but importantly had a sweet ending to it. She was tucked under his chin as his arm came around to rest on her back. "You're _way_ too tall," she laughed. The two of them together formed a very pleasing picture in the park's delightful grounds.

It turned out that along the journey back to Alicia's place, Ben changed his mind regarding his visit to Dan. "Hey, bro," he had uttered, bowing his head at the sight of the lonely gravestone when they got there. They spent about ten quiet minutes before heading home.

* * *

The insectoid creature emerged from the growing portal, with a mind that would not acquiesce.

_So the Negative Zone churns out mean bugs,_ whispered Ozai in his head. Helmet on safely, he toggled to Quad Mode & let out a mean growl. Annihilus's screech filled the whole lab, again, doing something injurious to the peace & quiet of before.

"No humans should _dare_ trespass into Annihilus's kingdom!" he sneered. Ozai took notice of the upturned gauntlet a tad too late when he spun round. "Oh…," he mumbled. Reed's favourite topics in their discussions were certainly those related to the Negative Zone. Reed would drag that subject for ages on end but that didn't mean Ozai absorbed it all at once!

He had in mind the actions of a lasso; ideas were connecting in one part of his cognitive faculties & some branching out in another. Just then, he struck to surprise the creature in a rodeo sort of style. Annihilus was fast approaching in rapid flight, & Leopard X swung his tail tight around the monstrosity's body. When he'd made several loops around the crazed insectoid, he tugged the base of his tail using both paws. The segments (in other words, pieces of metal) that made up the tail were highly magnetic in themselves; that was why the structure refused to break into fragments under almost any condition.

Then he asked, "Why are you here & what do you want? & keep it simple!"

Annihilus mouthed out nothing but unintelligible screeches in a hoarse voice, & wriggled violently.

"Never mind. L.Y., listen! I'm going to pull & rope this creature in, & I need you to decrease our _pericycle_ power input to 15%. Concentrate all power in the armour's front side - it will be less destructive but more focused!"

"Yes, sir," replied L.Y.

Ozai tugged another time, making it sudden, & fired the weapon whilst L.Y. made the tail unwrap back into position. A bolt of light exploded forth from the suit's chest area into his querulous opponent. This caused Annihilus to scream yet again in a piercing volume.

Upon performing a graceful back flip ten feet in the air, Ozai twisted his body at an angle to unleash one more tail attack properly. With that clean move, Leopard X practically swept the monster aside – away from Reed's gadgets he might damage. But the insectoid regained focus a short while after.

"You'll do much less harm downstairs, Annihilus!" said Ozai, standing on the floor elevator for a reason, "Take me down, H.E.R.B.I.E.!" At considerable velocity the platform descended with Annihilus rushing mad after him.

_I have to find the best bug spray there is here…Reed, you'd better be back soon,_ he muttered inside.


	3. Part Three

The Viper sped down the long street, engine revved up & roaring audibly although it was muffled by the more consistent wind. Under all that outside noise, the two were quite silent.

"I'm sorry about last night," said Azula most sighingly. It was difficult maintaining steady sense since she had made _the decision to get a REAL date going_. Yesterday was February 13th but she wasn't aware of the day that came after. Valentine's Day had sprung up on her by utter surprise. She was somehow reminded how she had kindly expressed inclination to hear Johnny tell her his problems in the past. Something was then bugging her all this time, especially the night before (following their argument in the car park), to reciprocate at last.

At some point, surely she'd be obliged to tell of the dark corners of her own past. Only: it was a rarity that she'd have such things on her mind. Today they were crammed into a pocket of her brain, yearning more than ever to come out.

He was in the driver's seat, took a very long time to respond, "Well…me too." He was probably pushing too hard & too early to ask her out – that led to the spat the previous night.

Ozai had left him a note from her this morning, mentioning that they were to _"meet at parking lot lift at seven, & that she had a thing or two to share tonight"._

With hardly any emotion, she uttered, "Well I…hope you'll like the place." And soon appeared the dazzling scarlet of Shanghai Pavillion.

Strangely concerned lest the younger female customers wept from vexation & envy, Johnny told the waiter attending to them, "Yeah, a private room please?" "Sure thing, Mr. Storm," answered the guy named Tsing. Azula checked to see how many faces were staring, plus she gauged approximately how close they might be to the start of their new gossiping sessions. Around them, voices high & low were in raptures continuing with little intermission.

The casual restaurant had no great mismanagement in its service; in exactly two seconds Tsing snapped his fingers to direct the couple to a room not gaudy or uselessly fine.

"Okay, Zed…," Johnny narrowed his gaze mischievously, "what's so important that you gotta tell it to me?" She didn't speak, but in turn narrowed her eyes instead before her second perusal through the whole menu. _Uh oh. She looked irritated. In one minute she'd be belligerent._ He just smirked sheepishly & leaned forward to rely on his powers of entertainment; maybe his eyes could hold enough light to captivate her…

In walked Tsing with a pen & notepad; Azula was ready to order, just as Johnny had finished with his own menu & blurted out, "We're ordering two specials with a banana smoothie for me & the usual Chinese tea for her." Luckily he spoke too fast for the waiter to jot a word down. Azula threw him a sarcastic stare while Tsing's faced him with a blank countenance. She corrected all that he said, telling Tsing softly, "We're ordering the Chinese cabbage, crispy tofu & _thousand layer wind _with rice, & the pancakes to finish off. Thanks."

"No problem. Thank you," said Tsing with his friendly look. "One 'special' would be enough for _five_ people, genius," came her half-smile toward Johnny, who pretended not to listen. The waiter left after pouring them tea, & she began, "So…I wouldn't share this with just anyone & it's so dangerous to share it with _you_, yet here we are."

"Is it gonna be like, WEIRD? 'Coz it might just give away how you've been acting around me," he cheekily crossed arms behind his back.

First she sighed, then proceeded, "I was playing around my house at age seven; you know..a normal child on her normal day." She watched him sip the tea inquisitively (although noisily). "My dad was experimenting in the downstairs lab, & I'd thought he wouldn't see me watching. He didn't like that. So I watched him from _above_ after climbing a high platform." There was that dull pain of replaying the experience in her mind while she explained.

"Is this gonna be a long story?" asked Johnny. She didn't look pleased, thus making him apologize. She went on, trying not to sound like a bitter drama queen, "To sum it up, I got my powers after I fell into the stuff Dad was making: unstable molecules. They burnt right through my hands & knees while I helplessly knelt in the mixture. I couldn't walk or touch anyone for days.

"Then I physically hurt people in school, at home…till Dad got down to teaching me self-control. That meant years of kung fu lessons, but none of this changed how people viewed me. They didn't want me in Shanghai, so we moved right here. Talk about stupid." Finally she wrapped it up with a long 'phew'.

His alarm appeared in a heightened complexion, _"That's it?"_

"Ever feel the pinch of a whole city that hates you?" she questioned, picking up her chopsticks.

"Nah. Not really. This city's the opposite; it loves me," he flashed a grin, pointing to himself with both hands.

"I'm gonna need some air," she muttered under her breath, getting up to exit.

"Wait! Hold on -"

She whirled around to tell it to his face, "Johnny, you gotta let me -"

He didn't allow space between that moment & the ideal moment – his lips met hers gently. She'd forgotten the last sentence too fast, but _this_ put an end to just about all the awkwardness toward him. Her thoughts were gradually placing him in a warmer, more amiable light. She felt rather light & airy, her insides in a high flutter, whilst she had a hand on the door securely for support.

Within three seconds he had let go, "The city loves you too." She took time to look into the blue eyes before her; they had a kind of _depth_ when she saw them up this close.

A glimmering emotion formerly absent was filling Azula; it was more than alien to her. So was his bunch of words a split second ago.** Yet this she called to mind, therefore sparking some of her hopes.**


	4. Part Four

Annihilus's only logical purpose for being here was answered, for the power core was within reach now. Flapping his wings, he approached the gigantic unit in an evil glee. Quickly he blasted a small hole in the unit's walls before ripping out a bunch of major wires. Then he was feeding off the vibrant energy contained in those wires, without solicitude about being discovered or caught in the act.

Ozai had lost him some seconds back; the chase was scarcely over. It was better not to use the _pericycle, _let alone any laser beams when running down Baxter Building hallways. In a sudden flash, the lights on Leopard X's sides dimmed down to nothingness. Incessant screeching echoed from someplace else while he slowed to a stop. Gee, his face must've been glowing with the warmth of exercise.

"Got to get to the basement lab," he said. He pricked his ears to be on alert. In case there were noises disturbing the silence he folded up his fingers to ready them for a clawed punch or two. After a draught, he exhaled in form of a soft growl. Annihilus wasn't far off but little did Ozai know he fed primarily on energy, & could detect such sources from afar. The building's power core had drawn him to it.

"Focus the light please, L.Y." Down the main penthouse corridor, he made out an awfully shredded surface: the doorway leading to the lift that conveyed people to the basement. The sliding doors were at least three quarters open & sparks flew out of the tattered opening to the passage. There was a long shaft to go before he'd enter the lab. He couldn't take the elevator platform as the power was out completely. Thus he resorted to jumping down the shaft with the firmest reliance on his four paws (to absorb the impact once he landed). There was no pool of light around other than the one he casted.

He beheld the insectoid, ascertaining that Annihilus's eyes looked like broken mirrors with an eerie glow. Ozai roared & got down to business, "Step away from there. Those wires are needed to power this whole building!" Pinning back his ears at the sound of deadly sparks of the wires, he crouched the lowest he could to anticipate a tussle.

"Since you humans do _nothing_ other than exploit my power source, I in turn will exploit yours…," he hissed in discomposure. His mind held anyone from this side of the universe in much contempt – a cynical sort of contempt – just because Doctor Doom had played a clean trick on him last time. "I don't understand a thing you're saying, but I'll conclude that you mean trouble," snarled Leopard X. It was a second right before the creature pounced in mid-air in his direction. No doubt that Annihilus had lethal speed. Next he fired his own red energy beam from the chest, except it was evaded by the cat-like robot's more cunning movements. Ozai whirled around him, slashed at him from behind & brought him down using a jump kick.

H.E.R.B.I.E. suddenly came online again, judging by the additional little lights now illuminating the room, "AH! Dr. Ozai! What is going on?"

"H.E.R.B.I.E.?" panted Leopard X, blocking another laser attack, "I think this bug feeds off electricity. We need to send a surge overload into his body to electrocute him." "That's right! Dr. Richards wrote a paper on how organisms from the Negative Zone rely on this exact same energy to survive!" said the computer.

"I have an idea." Annihilus wanted to ram into him head on but he blasted the insectoid with a laser from his mouth. "Let's tie him up with those wires he chewed," he instructed. The lab's huge robotic arms operated by the computer were working. They took some of the large partially ripped wires to wrap around the monster. Ozai did the same with the remaining loose cables. Following that, he rushed to open the main flap on the back of his armour with three special claw movements similar to a code. From there he carefully pulled out a two fairly thick wires to plug into the best-sized points on the unit itself. There were a few spare plug points in the machine's body, so he easily found spots for his internal wires to fit in.

A tap on a button under the flap caused Leopard X's suit to empty its power into the unit - & then into the cables binding Annihilus. In utter shock the insectoid let out a shrill cry as the sparks augmented into a dangerous mass of electricity. Moments passed until he collapsed at last in a weakened heap, after Ozai had tapped the same button & removed his wires from the core.

"Power reboot in progress," H.E.R.B.I.E. muttered. With that he managed to get most of the lights to switch back on, by resetting the power core the best he could. "Oh, L.Y.! Are you okay? Boy, was I worried about you!" he added. "Of course I am, H.E.R.B.I.E.," came her sweet sounding reply; she was online & running fine.

"Our next goal: refining the _pericycle. _It's too dangerous to use for now," Ozai told both the computers. Abruptly his earpiece beeped, "Ozai, where are you? Is anything wrong?" The voice belonged to none other than Reed. "I have one of your bug friends from the Negative Zone. In the basement lab," Leopard X responded, "I'll meet you upstairs." He took the elevator back up along with Annihilus, who was bound tightly & moaning deeply. Six puzzled faces were in front of him now.

Inside his helmet, he smiled to see Johnny's hand being held by Azula. "_The Annihilator?_ Wow Dr.O, you make the ideal exterminator!" Johnny commented.

"Uhhh, I ain't gonna ask about what happened. Let's drag this bug to the Vault before bedtime," Ben said.

"How did he get all the way down _there_?" Reed enquired in an urgent tone. He was eyeing the damaged opening to the elevator shaft.

Ozai half-laughed, "Long story short, Reed? You should have briefed me on how to behave around your power gauntlet."


End file.
